10-10-2010, 02:15 PM
steinjr Wrote:...That Consolidation is pretty finicky about power pickup and track work - my heavy Athearn RS3 has no trouble switching the warehouse district, but the consolidation stalls out here and there, and also has an annoying tendency to derail. I need to find my NMRA gauge and check both the Consolidation and the track work...
The cable between engine and tender can easy lift the front truck of the tender. I suggest to open the tender and put some weight in the front. That might also improve power pickup. You can do an easy test with some weight on top of the coal of the tender.
Otherwise a common solution is to use all wheels of the tender to pickup power. This On30 page shows a simple method to add the pickup ( http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/mogul_tsunami/ ) and a similar solution from a German fellow http://www.westportterminal.de/tender080.html.
Reinhard